[Nfbf-l] Article from a Romanian Newspaper

[REPCODDS at aol.com]

Read this excerpt from a  Romanian Newspaper ...  The article was written 
by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu  and published under the title 'C'ntarea Americii, 
meaning 'Ode To America ') in the  Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei 'The 
Daily Event' or 'News of the  Day'.

~An  Ode to  America  ~ 

Why  are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if 
you painted  them all one color!  They speak all the languages of the world 
and form an  astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious  beliefs.

On 9/ll, the American tragedy turned three  hundred million people into a 
hand put on the heart.   Nobody rushed  to accuse the White House, the Army, 
or the Secret Service that they are only a  bunch of losers.  Nobody rushed 
to empty their bank accounts.    Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby 
to gape about. 

Instead the Americans volunteered to donate blood  and to give a helping 
hand. 


After the first moments of panic, they  raised their flag over the smoking 
ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in  the colors of the national 
flag.  They placed flags on buildings and cars  as if in every place and on 
every car a government official or the president was  passing.  On every 
occasion, they started singing: 'God  Bless   America !' 

I watched the live broadcast and rerun after  rerun for hours listening to 
the story of the guy who went down one hundred  floors with a woman in a 
wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the  Californian hockey player, 
who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and  prevented the plane from 
hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds  or thousands of 
people. 

How on earth were they able to respond united as  one human being?  
Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the  memory of some turned into a 
modern myth of tragic heroes.  And with every  phone call, millions and 
millions of dollars were put into collection aimed at  rewarding not a man or a 
family, but a spirit, which no money can buy.   What on earth unites the 
Americans in such a way?  Their land?  Their  history?  Their economic Power?  
Money?   I tried for  hours  to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring 
phrases with the risk  of sounding commonplace, I thought things over, I 
reached but only one  conclusion... Only freedom  can work such miracles. 


Cornel  Nistorescu